Mortal Love
by Lunar Incense
Summary: As Edward leaves, a change rips through Bella. Tell me... Can a vampire love a werewolf? Werewolf!Bella Pairing: Either Edward/Bella, or Jacob/Bella. Only time can tell.
1. Chapter 1

So, I was reading Pregnant Vampire Bella Joins the Army, and it occurred to me that I would really like to see a fanfic with werewolf!Bella. And so, my planning began. At first, I thought I'd make it so she first phased in the Cullen's house, and have the Cullens accept her, despite their distaste for her scent, but I quickly scrapped that idea and decided I wanted them not to know until she got a handle on her abilities. So here it is. The first chapter of Mortal Love. Just so everyone knows, I haven't really planned out the whole thing, or if this story will be Edward/Bella or Jacob/Bella. The title can be taken both ways. (Mortal enemies, or mortal lifespans) I just vaguely know where I want to go, and I type my way there.

"You… don't… want me?" I tried out the words, confused by the way they sounded, placed in that order.

"No."

"Goodbye, Bella," he said in that same quiet, peaceful tone.

"Take care of yourself," he breathed, cool against my skin.

He was gone.

Suddenly, without warning, grief overwhelmed me, and I began shivering, shaking, violently. I felt terribly warm, and equally strange. It was as if something was trying to burst out of my skin, but despite my anguish, I felt oddly calm. Not hysterical at all, even though the love of my soul, the one I wanted to spend eternity with, had just told me he didn't want me and had left me here alone.

The shaking was so strong now, and I almost believed it was an earthquake, but as I fell on my hands and knees, I heard ripping, and the trembling stopped. The grief hadn't lessened, but now it felt as though it were channeled into energy, and that the only way to release myself from its clutches was to run.

So I ran.

I didn't even notice that as I ran, I was using my hands to propel myself forward as much as my feet, and for once, I felt graceful and bumped into nothing. I kept running and running with no goal in mind until I had tired myself out and collapsed. My pain hadn't truly left me, but it was no longer such a burden, and, with my last vestiges of strength, I crawled in a hollow under a nearby tree, and slept.

When I awoke, I heard people muttering at each other. Why were they so loud? I wanted to sleep forever, to sleep and forget. And then, memories of yesterday crashed down on me.

I whimpered, but refused to open my eyes. Maybe, if I stayed like this, they would go away? But it was not to be.

"Bella? Isabella Swan? Are you awake?" I cracked open an eyelid, and after a minute, recognized this stranger as Sam Uely, one of the guys from the reservation. I waited to see what he would say, and was not disappointed.

"I can't believe this is happening. You aren't even Quileute." And then he sighed. "Bella, you should go look at yourself."

I crawled out of my burrow, and tried to stand up.

And promptly fell back onto my hands.

Startled, I tried to look down, but Sam caught my face in his overly large hands and said, almost apprehensively, "Perhaps you should just… crawl." Confused now, I opened my mouth to say something, but he shushed me and pulled me towards a nearby stream. I looked at the clear, reflective water, and inhaled sharply. Where my reflection should have been was the image of a large white dog. No, I thought, examining it, a wolf.

I looked up at Sam questioningly, and he nodded solemnly. "That's right, it's you. This shouldn't have happened, but I suppose Charlie may have had at least one ancestor who was one of us. And then, since you have been spending more time around those bloodsuckers than anyone imaginable, it must have triggered those genes, or whatever." He frowned. "It must have only been a matter of time."

He looked away from me. "It's not that I don't like you. I don't even know you, really, but it's hard, knowing that you're a… monster. And that others can become monsters too because of those leeches. But we'll help you the best we can. I sent Jared and Paul off to go borrow some of Emily's clothes for you. Charlie sent out a search party for you, you know. If you can change back when they return, we can give you some quick lessons on what to be careful for and take you back to him." His gaze, determined and pained this time, settled on me again.

I nodded. I didn't know why, but I still wasn't panicking, despite the impossibility of it all. But was it really so impossible? If vampires existed, then why couldn't werewolves as well? It would explain why I wasn't quite as intimidated by the –

I cut off that thought, but continued my line of reasoning.

If I were a supernatural creature as well, then it made some sort of sense that I might appeal to… Him… more than any mere mortal. And why I did not react in typical human fashion, nor could my mind be read. And suddenly, I wished that I were just a human after all, so that I could have let Him hear my thoughts; let Him know the true depths of my love –

_Ew! Don't be so sappy, Bella! And not for a bloodsucker like him!_ I jumped at the sound of a voice in my head.

_How can you love a filthy leech!? Are you out of your mind!?_ Another, angrier voice resounded equally loud in my mind.

_That's enough._ Demanded a third. _Don't scare her. I haven't explained everything to her yet._

_Who are you?_ I thought tentatively.

_I'm Jared!_ Chirped the first voice.

_Paul._ Growled the second.

An enormous black wolf stepped out of the tree line, flanked by a slightly smaller dark grey wolf, and a brown one fractionally smaller than the grey with what looked like blue cloth held gently in its jaws. And then I realized that Sam wasn't standing next to me any more. Something in my head clicked into place.

I looked to the obvious leader. _Sam?_ I questioned. The black wolf nodded. Even from this distance, I could tell they were all about a foot taller than me, and I was at least twice the size of a normal wolf.

When they saw I wasn't going to panic or flee, the smaller brown one, Jared, I presumed, dropped the bundle of blue cloth at my feet.

_We'll give you some privacy to change back and get dressed._ He gave what could only be described as a wolfish grin, and moved into the forest with the others.

"Call us when you're done!" It was odd to hear the same voice that had just been in my head spoken aloud. And then came my dilemma. I had no idea of how to change back. As if knowing what was wrong, Sam called out to me.

"Just focus on being human, on everything that makes you what you are."

So I thought about Charlie and Renee, and my love for Him, and I could feel my fur shrinking into my skin. The transformation wasn't uncomfortable, per se, but when it finished, my bones ached horribly, and my mind felt numb. I got dressed as if in a dream, and stood there. After a moment, a smiling round face peeked around a tree, and Jared signaled to the others that I was dressed and that they could come down.

The three shoeless, half naked boys stood around me and gazed at me intently, as if searching for something.

"Hey, Bella, you feeling better?" Jared asked bluntly.

I just stared at him blankly.

"I think she's in shock," muttered Paul. Sam shook his head sadly.

"But not about being a werewolf, I don't think. The bloodsuckers left town the day she disappeared. They left her behind." That struck a cord in me. And suddenly I was sobbing.

_They left me behind!_ I was gasping for breath and clutching my sides, where, as the pleasant, drifting numbness fled, a gaping hole ripped through my chest. The others panicked.

"Let's get her to Emily!" Sam scooped me up in his enormous tan arms and I absently noted the wind rushing against me before I succumbed to dark nothingness.

Most wolves are about 2 – 2 ½ feet tall at the shoulders. Since this wasn't specified in the books, I'm having Bella, and later Leah, be about 5 feet tall and the males be about 6 feet tall, with Sam, and later Jacob being a few inches taller than even that.

So? What do you think? That was chapter one. The first few lines are actually from New Moon, but I didn't want to use the whole scene. Also, please assume that everything before and during that point occurred in the same manner and that thoughts and feelings revealed in the later books of characters not affected by her change, remain the same. This is an AU, and the divergence point is, obviously, one or more of Bella's ancestors having been a werewolf. And, as Jacob said before, it was because he was so happy, being around her that made it take so long for it to happen, despite the inevitability with his bloodline and since she was filled with the joy of Edward's love, and was always in the proximity of vampires, nothing happened until it all came crashing to a halt.

This is the first fanfic idea I've ever actually written down, so I hope everyone liked it. Since it's summer, I'll try to update everyday, but know that I'm incredibly flaky, and get easily distracted, so don't hold me to my word. Until next time!

Lunar Incense


	2. Chapter 2

Lunar Incense here! Since there was a two day waiting period until I could post Mortal Love, here's chapter two as well. Enjoy!

Soft fingers stroked my back and a calming melody drifted to my ears. I sighed. Who was this? A woman, I could tell, so certainly not Him. I opened my eyes and glanced up. This person was very beautiful, I noted, with mahogany skin and high, elegant cheekbones. I could see that she long thick scars on one side of her face. As I wondered vaguely how she got them, she looked me in the eye, and seemed pleased that I was awake. She stopped humming and her face broke into a radiant smile.

"Hello, Bella. Are you hungry? I managed to save a plate for you from the boys."

I understood what she said, but made no move to reply. Was I hungry? I didn't know. I didn't care. The silence didn't seem to perturb her in the least. She began stroking my head instead, paying careful attention to my ears, and I realized I was a wolf again.

She pulled a plate of food from somewhere out of my range of vision, and held a biscuit to my nose. I didn't take it. After a few moments, she put the biscuit back down, and murmured kindly,

"Why don't you go back to sleep? I'll be here when you wake."

Still I felt nothing, but I closed my eyes and let the darkness take me again.

The next few days passed in a blur. I mostly stayed in wolf form, except for when Charlie came to collect me. When the others pleaded with me to change back, that he shouldn't know, he couldn't know, and I felt the first stirrings of emotions since my breakdown. Charlie? My dad. Hiding this from him was the least I could do. He didn't deserve a heart attack, and I doubted he could survive one anyway. I complied for his sake, and Emily, the beautiful girl from before, dressed me.

But when Charlie did come, I refused to move. Something about these people made me… want… to stay. I avoided my emotions as much as possible, certain I could not handle them, but the sense of belonging was overwhelming. When he tried to carry me out of the house, I couldn't help but kick and scream and flee to the others. They were my pack now.

Charlie was distraught, but he could see no other alternative. He would be at work most of the time anyway, and could not properly care for me even if he weren't. After work, he visited me when he could, but mostly my days were filled with Sam teaching me the Quileute legends and "How to Be a Werewolf 101," as Jared called it. I absorbed the information, but said nothing to anyone. The only form of communication I maintained was when I shared the one mind of the pack.

Nothing could be kept a secret when in wolf form, but I relished it. Not the sharing, but the simplicity of my wolf self. My mind was still essentially human, but instincts were closer to the surface. How things should be meant nothing. How things were was all that mattered. The future and the past were meaningless as I was, so I could not dwell on Him leaving me even if I had wished to. Instead, I focused on my lessons with the wolves, and Emily.

Sometimes, I think I could not have made it if it were not for her. The others were pack, brothers, but she was like a mother. I had spent my whole life taking care of my mom, as absentminded and childish as she was, so this was a new experience for me.

At first, when I would not eat for days, it was she who opened my jaws and placed food on my tongue to remind me of hunger. When I was filthy and would not move from my bed, it was she who enlisted Sam to place me in a bathtub and it was she who painstakingly washed my fur, and cut it since it was far too long to be comfortable. And, when I finally regained some sense of myself, she was the one I followed around like a lost puppy.

When I finally regained my voice, and began to be human more than wolf, Emily enrolled me in the Quileute school on the reservation. The schoolwork was easy, and I caught up quickly. But despite my progress, I still acted fairly like a zombie when not with my pack, and only spoke when addressed by another, and then only as concisely as possible. My demeanor quickly halted any friendly gestures in their tracks, until I met him. Again, I mean.

When I first saw Jacob Black again, I knew who he was, and that his father was one of Charlie's best friends. I knew that he was the person who had first given me the information on the… Cold Ones. But most importantly, I knew that of all the people who might still become a werewolf, he was the most likely to change. With lycanthropy present on both sides of his family, not to mention his startling growth spurt from the last time I had seen him; it couldn't be too long now.

Automatically, I felt drawn to him, and made pathetic attempts at friendly overtures. Despite their lackluster quality, he seemed inordinately pleased.

"You're… Jacob Black, right?" Though my face was expressionless, he grinned.

"And you're Isabella Swan." I twitched.

"It's Bella."

"Jake." We shook hands, and that was that.

Though he was a year younger than me, I followed him around when I could at school, and with every smile, every small touch, I couldn't help but feel like I was thawing, becoming more human again. Emily had pulled me from drowning in my depression, but Jake resuscitated my essence, what made me Bella. With him around, I felt almost normal, almost like I had before I had moved to Forks. He was my own personal sun.

After a while, I began leaving Emily's house, and spending time in Jake's garage, watching him work on his car. I met his friends, Embry and Quil. No matter what they did, they never quite made me smile like Jake could, but they were pleasant all the same. I was also fairly sure that they both probably had some potential for becoming, which was a pleasant thought. Unlike Sam, I didn't consider lycanthropy a curse, or that we were monsters. We simply were.

Embry changed first, which was a surprise. I had been certain that it would be Jake, but I could wait.

When Jake expressed his dislike of Sam and our pack and fear that Embry had forcefully been initiated into a gang of some sort, I could not calm him. Sam was a good person, but he was not taken to interacting with non-werewolves, and there was no way to really explain that.

When Billy called Sam and told him that Jake was burning up, I was… actually happy. I could not remember a time since my change that I had felt such joy. I was the first to undress in the forest to save my clothes and phased to greet him.

Since I was the smallest of the pack, and was the one closest to him, I was the only one allowed inside Billy's tiny house to properly greet him. (With a little protest from Embry, of course) He was sleeping when I got there, but I sat next to him, and laid my head on his violently shaking back.

Billy, in an effort to protect his belongings, had me (In wolf form) lay him on the rug in the living room and had removed his clothing and placed a blanket over him. I waited patiently and growled soothingly to him as Billy left to give us some privacy. Phasing for the first time was always a sight to behold. One could never guess exactly what hue the fur turned out to be, and I could hear Embry and Jared debating in the back of my mind. I gave the wolfish equivalent of a chuckle as Paul snapped at them to shut up, but I knew he too was excited to have a new brother.

Then, it happened. Rich, reddish-brown fur erupted from his skin as his bone structure changed and he grew. When the trembling grounded to a halt, I could feel a new mind brush against my own, his emotions wild and frantic, and I spoke to him.

_Jake?_ He jumped under my head. _It's Bella. Calm down, you're alright._

_Bella? What just happened? That felt so strange._ He opened his eyes and scrambled away from me. I tried not to feel hurt, since I knew he was surprised and didn't understand.

_Jake, look at yourself._ He unthinkingly complied and jumped again, before lifting his paws one at a time.

_I'm… a dog!?_ He was panicked now.

_Not quite. Come with me._ I brushed against him casually, and tried not to be angry when he flinched.

I marched out the open door and looked back to make sure he had followed. He looked unsure, but at my playful growl, he followed me to the tree line, and grew visibly alarmed when the others appeared one by one.

Embry broke ranks and came up to us to sniff noses with him. He sat down on his haunches and gave a content, wolfish grin.

_Welcome, Jake, to our werewolf pack!_

Jake was panicking because anyone normally would panic in a situation like that. Only Bella didn't because she was in shock and was disassociated from reality at that point. Also, she had already known about vampires, and it wasn't too big of a jump to knowing that werewolves existed and that she was one too. Jake was just a normal kid.

I didn't put in the part about the motorcycles or taking big risks because Bella's more stable in this story, but also is more distanced from her emotions. Naturally, she is very ooc for now. No worries, she'll soon act like the Bella we all know and love with more influence of the pack and Jake. Give it time. I'd also like to make a review-only poll on the main pairing. I like Jacob more, but if everyone wants Edward to be with Bella, and if I like him enough when I get to that point, I may be persuaded otherwise. Until next time!

Lunar Incense


	3. Chapter 3

Here's chapter three. I'm not really pleased with it, but it'll do.

--

Running, running. Swiftly, now. Avoid capture, I'm almost there. That tree in the distance signifies the end of their territory. What was that? A shadow trails at my heels, and then another, but I know I'm faster. It'd take a better ambush than that to catch me! I pass the invisible line and a victory howl erupts from my throat.

_Take that, boys!_

I continue on, but my shadows make no move to follow. They can't, after all, or they would risk Sam's wrath. I am allowed, though, because the Cullens once loved me, and I know that they wouldn't break the treaty over me no matter what I had become. Besides, it wasn't like they'd come back, at least not until Alice saw my death. They promised.

_Dammit, Bella! Come back here!_ Paul was furious, as usual.

I suppose it was my fault, for stealing his food, but it was all in the name of good fun. A good distance away, I sat down to enjoy my spoils. It wasn't much, really, just a few hot dogs, but I had been goading him on, and we both enjoyed a good race. He could curse all he wanted, but he was just sore that I won again. Being small and fast had its benefits.

_Hah! She got you good! Way to go, Bella!_ The other shadow chortled good naturedly. Jake always followed to help wind Paul up.

As expected, I could hear sounds of a scuffle, and polished off my stolen meal so I could break up the fight. As Paul gained the upper hand, I barreled into him and together Jake and I pinned him down. I bit his ear.

_Do you give?_ I smirked as he growled profanities, but we let him up.

_Well, now all the excitement is over, I'm going to go visit Charlie. Wanna come, Jake?_ Paul grumbled that I had been the one to cause the excitement, but Jake followed me as we took off to visit my dad.

Charlie. I'd missed him, and visited him when I could, but Jake and the others were closer than family. They were pack. He seemed pleased to see me better every time, but I knew he felt guilty that he hadn't been able to help more. Typical Charlie.

Ever since Jake had become one of us, the pain had lessened exponentially. He went everywhere with me, did everything with me, and was my best friend, but I knew he wanted more. He said he would wait for me, and I had my suspicions that he had imprinted on me, but I doubt I could ever love him like that. My heart was healing, but I would always, always never forget. I doubted I could move on, really. But I would see. And if I ever did move on, or if I could ever fall in love again, I knew it would be with him. Jacob Black. My own personal sun.

When we arrived at the house, I could tell Charlie wasn't there. But that wasn't what surprised me. I knew that car in the driveway! I knew that I was hoping against hope, but one of them could be here! My heart picked up, and my breathing grew quick. Before Jake could stop me, I phased and dressed, and rushed in through the door.

--

The sickly sweet scent of chloroform and ice hit my nose and I almost gagged, but even that couldn't stop my cry of joy.

"Alice!" I gasped, and slammed into her ice cold body. I was surprised that I knocked her to the floor, but I supposed werewolves had to be stronger than the Cold Ones. We were their natural predators, after all. I could see her perplexity and her nose wrinkled at my own scent, but I couldn't help sobbing into her shoulder.

"You're here! Oh, Alice, I've missed you!" I sobbed. I guess I hadn't truly healed as much as I thought.

"B-Bella? What happened? You smell like wet dog! And your hair!" I laughed shakily. It was so Alice to first notice things like my now short hair.

She stepped back as she took in my appearance. Since my fur was too long, Emily cut my hair short, and at my request, in a similar style to Alice's own. I wore a long, loose, earth-brown dress with slits up the side to accommodate running in human form, and a drawstring at the waist to keep it in place. The drawstring both hid my unsupported chest and allowed the dress to be securely tied to my ankle when I was in wolf form. Like the others, I wore no shoes, and I was certain I had at least a few streaks of mud on my skin. I'd become a wild child.

I grinned sheepishly. "Well, I am a werewolf now. You don't smell so good yourself." She seemed startled, but not afraid. I was glad. It meant that she still accepted me despite the whole Capulet-Montague-like hatred between our kinds.

The door slammed, and we both jumped. I pushed her behind me protectively. I was well aware that Jake could and would tear her apart if he didn't listen to me.

"What the hell, Bella! There's a goddamn bloodsucker around here, and you rush in…" He caught sight of us and took in my stance.

"You're protecting it!?" He was shaking in fury, but I would not let him harm her.

"Alice is my friend! You'll have to kill me first before you touch her! Remember the treaty, Jake." I was ready to phase at any moment, but I knew he wouldn't even try to get past me, no matter how much he wanted her dead.

"Dammit, Bella! You know I'd never do anything to you." He took a deep breath and the shaking stopped.

"Bella? What's going on?" Alice touched my hand, and with a final warning glance at Jake, I turned to her with a grin.

"You'd better sit down. It's a long story."

--

Though Jake made no further protest to Alice's presence, he stuck around to make sure she didn't try to eat me, or something. I rolled my eyes. As if Alice would ever think about hurting me! Even if in some alternate universe she might try, a vampire couldn't touch a werewolf, and she certainly couldn't maim me.

She was surprised by my lycanthropy, and what it meant, but she took it pretty well. When my tale concluded, she began hers. She told me how the others had left to visit the Denali for a while, and then how the couples had split up.

She said that… He… had told her not to look into my future, but just yesterday, which had been particularly bad for her, (All the malls were closed, Jasper who had thought she would be shopping had gone to see Carlisle and Esme without her, and it was extremely bright and sunny all day) she had broken the rules.

When looking into my future showed absolutely nothing, she feared that I had tripped and fallen and died somehow. So she came back to visit Charlie, and perhaps my grave, only to find he was not home. She had gotten the surprise of her… life, or whatever, when I came running into her reeking of dog.

I was annoyed that she had assumed that I had died in such a pathetic manner, but as I had been before my change, I could not deny that I was just clumsy enough for it to be possible. The not being able to see me surprised me, though. I supposed my gifts had enhanced when I had become a werewolf. Who knows?

All throughout our stories, I clung to her and smiled radiantly like never before. She seemed bemused that I would still love her and the other Cullens despite everything, and Jake seemed permanently livid.

After a while, as the sun set, Charlie came back and sent Jake home. He left reluctantly and I knew that Sam would hear about this. They'd better not make trouble for her! There was a short, awkward pause before Charlie asked the one question I had avoided during her whole visit.

"He… isn't here with you, is he?" He looked relieved when she shook her head. There was no need to clarify who 'He' was.

"Are you staying long?" Okay, make that two questions I wouldn't ask. I looked at her expectantly and tensed. She glanced at me.

"Maybe a day or two," she murmured. I squealed in joy. Charlie smiled at my expression, and I knew he was glad that I was happier than I had been in so long. He went up to bed to give us more time to chat, but as I helped her make up the couch where she would pretend to sleep, I couldn't help but feel 

exhausted from the day. I yawned, and when we finished, she wordlessly let me cuddle with her. I fell asleep is her cool, stone arms.

--

I woke up to Alice and Charlie talking in the kitchen. After listening for a moment, I knew he was telling her about how I'd been after they'd left. It wasn't pleasant. I pretended to still be asleep as he finished his breakfast and headed off to work before sitting up and looking at Alice in the doorway.

She grimaced at my troubled expression. I sighed.

"Oh, Alice… I-"

The phone rang.

--

Alright! That's Chapter Three. I can't help but feel that it was too rushed, but I couldn't think of any good details to add. Even though I wrote this on the third, I waited a day for the poll. But no one voted… By the way, I'm not going to do the Volturi trip unless it's E/B. Actually, although I like Jacob more, I'm rooting for Edward in this story. (Aren't I writing it?) J/B seems like it'd be boring for this plotline. Either way, there'll be hints of the other pairing. We'll see how it goes. You have until next chapter to vote. Until then!

Lunar Incense


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